


Decisions, Decisions

by ArtificialCherryBomb



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X
Genre: M/M, Sigma is a dick, it sucks to be X, maverick!Zero, nothing major
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2018-10-07 20:33:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10368867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtificialCherryBomb/pseuds/ArtificialCherryBomb
Summary: X needs to make a choice.





	1. Chapter 1

X was thrown to the ground with a heavy thud, his arms tied behind his back as he grunted. He snarled, moving himself up to his knees. His armor was cracked, fractures of damage sending warning signals all over his body. He had known he couldn't run forever, but he didn't think he'd be caught so soon...

He glared up at Sigma hatefully, wincing as the Maverick's laughter echoed throughout the throne room. The guards stared with empty, vacant eyes, one holding a pistol to the back of X's head. Any wrong move and he'd be finished.

"X! So nice of you to join us! How long has it been? Years since we saw each other last?" The former Commander bellowed, resting his clenched fists on the arms of his seat, his grin practically radiating with affliction. "You're certainly a sight for sore eyes. Though it appears that you've seen better days. You look terrible!" He kept laughing, as though they were old friends catching up over a warm cup of coffee on a chilly morning.

"Yeah. Not everyone can look their best when they're being hunted down twenty-four seven." X deadpanned, sitting back on his ankles, cautious of the gun that tapped his helmet. A humorless smile grew on his face. "You've gotta give me some credit though, Sig. I'm still good-looking. You, however...the years haven't been that kind to."

"Oh! How snarky!" He bellowed, laughing once more. The sound made every particle in X's body crawl. "I don't remember you being so sharp-tongued! Did Zero teach you that?"

X paled, trying not to avert his eyes. Sigma noticed this, shaking his head whilst looking incredibly amused.

Zero had died a long time ago, right when Sigma's newest rebellion began. He had suddenly grown so horribly sick, and his body overheated to the point where his insides began to melt. There was no known cause, but the disease was wiping out Reploids in massive numbers. There was no cure, and when damage was finally being done to Zero's core and IC chip, it was X who had to make the final, devastating call: let his best friend continue to suffer until he perished, or end it quickly, in his sleep.

X had known what he needed to do. That didn't mean his decision didn't haunt him every day for the rest of his life.

The world then went to shit. Without Zero helping them, the Maverick Hunters were horribly outmatched. It had become clear to X that the Mavericks were after him specifically, and he knew that this meant Sigma wanted him for some purpose. So, he said goodbye to all his friends, lingering over Zero's grave before making his leave.

He didn't know how long he'd been moving. He didn't even know if his friends were alive. He knew it was wrong of him to leave him alone, but he just knew that Sigma wouldn't kill them. Not yet anyways. He wanted X first. He didn't care about anything else.

X held his breath, praying that Sigma hadn't dropped a nuke on Maverick Hunter HQ as soon as he learned of X's arrest.

"Speaking of, I heard that he died rather ungraciously," The dictator chuckled, resting his head against his hand as he looked at X sadistically, studying his reaction. "I didn't think my little virus would terminate the strongest Reploid in history so easily! Such a shame, don't you think?"

"You don't have the right to speak his name." X spat, his green eyes burning with hatred and defiance. "Why have you been hunting me down?! If it's to kill me just do it already!"

He flinched when Sigma suddenly slammed his fist against his throne, cracks forming under his fist. There was a brief pause, and the Maverick began laughing at him again.

"Bored already? X, we have all the time in the world to get to the topic of your demise, but I'm afraid that's not the exact reason why I've brought you here today," He cackled, sitting up straighter. He snapped a finger at one of the guards. The Maverick left immediately. "You see, I wish to make a...compromise."

"Compromise?" X echoed, looking distraught. "What do you mean?"

"An exchange, if you will. One that would make us both happy." He settled back into his seat, triumph in his tone. "Option one: you and that blasted Maverick Hunter organization lay down your weapons. You disband, allowing the world to finally accept me as its ruler. The humans will naturally be eliminated, but you've known my plan since the beginning of the first rebellion."

"Why on earth would I let that happen?!" Light's legacy snapped in rage, struggling against his bonds until he was reminded of the cold and unforgiving weapon pressed against his skull. "So many innocent human and Reploid lives have already been lost! I can't watch you destroy everything we've all worked for! Humans have finally begun to accept Reploids as their equals! You're insane-!"

"You didn't let me finish X," Sigma sighed like a parent dealing with an impossible child. "You and all your friends would be treated as royalty! It would be because of you that I rose to power, and, frankly, it'd be a shame to have such strong Reploid terminated uselessly." His eyes moved to the doorway where the Reploid left, and he was smiling horribly. "Besides, I'd be giving you a special gift as compensation. I've debated it numerous times before, but I've finally decided that you'd especially deserve it if you chose the right answer."

X followed his gaze, frowning. When their eyes locked, the blue Reploid froze, shock, horror, disbelief, and hope grew on his face, his mouth parting.

"N-No...No way... you...you died...I...I had to..." He whispered, shaking.

Zero. His best friend. He was right there. His armor removed, his hair down, his body covered with beautiful crimson robes, half of his chest bare as he was led forward by the Maverick guard. A chain was connected to the odd collar around his neck, and his shiny red eyes looked almost disinterested as he stared at X.

He was gorgeous. A God gracing them with his presence. Not at all like how he...how he...

"...This is i-impossible..." X uttered softly, forcing himself to look at Sigma. He needed answers before he lost his mind. "We...we had to pull the plug. He flat-lined. His insides were _melting_... I-I was the one who..."

"I can tell you're surprised," Sigma nodded, making a dismissive motion with his hand. The guard instantly released the leash, leaving Zero to stand alone. The blond didn't move once. "But surely you remember the X-Hunters? I was the one who provided them with the blueprints necessary to recreate Zero. I always knew keeping them would come in handy. When I heard of his unfortunate demise, I had his remains stolen, recreated, _perfected_. He's alive again, strong as ever."

"Y-Y-You're lying... he...it must be a fake..." He shook his head, not wanting to believe. "That's just...That's just a copy you made... Its not real, it's not..."

"I thought you'd say that." Sigma opened the palm of his hand, revealing a control with a switch on it, its black color shining ominously in the dark. "I'm sure you've noticed the collar around his neck? It's not only for decoration. Allow me to show you."

He pressed it, and suddenly Zero gasped in pain. In a flash, his red eyes turned to the blue that X fell in love with, and the Maverick Hunter fell to his knees, his body shaking uncontrollably. He raised his head with a groan, his vision swimming until it finally focused on X.

"...X-X...?" He wheezed, reaching a hand forward slowly, his eyes moving to Sigma to ask for either permission of confirmation. When the tyrant nodded the blond sobbed, rushing forward and falling on the ground before X, hugging him, burying his face into his armored chest. "X!!"

"Zero!" X was crying too, and although he could not embrace the other, he kissed him wherever he could. Zero grabbed his cheeks and pressed their lips together firmly.

"My love, what did he do to you...?" X whispered hoarsely when they had to breathe, looking him over for any sign of injury. Nothing. His body was perfect. "Did he hurt you...?"

Zero didn't answer, just holding onto X as if his life depended on it.

It turns out it did.

"I've found a way to turn a Reploid Maverick and back at will. It was an awfully long process of...trial and error," Sigma shrugged like it was no big deal. "But as you can see, it was all worth it in the end. He turns so easily now."

Zero's hold tightened around X, and he shook his head weakly. X gritted his teeth, wishing his arms were free so he could comfort him.

"Why...? What do you want Sigma?" X hissed, turning his body, trying as best as he could to block Sigma's view of Zero. "If you hurt him, I swear..."

"It's for our exchange, sweet X. I thought I'd give you a proper incentive to consider my offer." He regarded the two with such sinister eyes, chuckling deeply. "You give me the world, and you get to keep Zero, and you'll both be sitting on the lap of royalty."

X stiffened, his mouth drawing a thin line as his pupils shrank. Zero lifted his head in shock, shaking it.

"D...Don't do it X..." he whispered, his blue eyes shaking in fear. He was different now. No longer his confident self. He was very afraid. What did Sigma do...? "I'm not...I'm not worth it X-"

"If you refuse," Sigma cut him off, his eyes seeing straight into X's core, knowing that his next words will break him. "I have missiles locked onto every city on this planet, including Maverick Hunter HQ. If you say no, I'll destroy everything, human and Reploid, and nothing can stop. And, let's not forget," he pressed the switch once more.

Zero choked, his body jolting away from X as though shocked. Blue turned to red, and suddenly he didn't look so sad anymore. X watched in horror as his love stood, moving away from him to stand by Sigma's side, looking at his Master for an order.

"I keep him like I have been these past few months. He makes a very obedient slave..." Sigma sneered, running a massive hand along Zero's delicate tear-stained face. He pressed his thumb against the blond's soft lips, pleased when they opened immediately to flick the appendage with his tongue, red eyes full of lust...

"St...Stop it..." X couldn't look away, rage filling his core, ringing filling his ears. He suddenly wanted to spill blood.

"I don't typically release him from the Maverick virus during the day, but at night," Sigma continued, watching Zero bring his thumb into his mouth, sucking it softly. "Every night, in fact, when we're laying in my bed, do I set him free. Oh X, I see why you love him so much. The... _expressions_ he makes...!" He laughed, suddenly pulling the blond closer by the leash, their faces mere inches apart. Zero looked so longing... "He would try and fight me the first few months or so, but I think he realized after a while that it was futile. It became so much easier. He even begged for me to-"

"I said STOP IT!" X roared, unable to think as he jumped to his feet, bloodlust in his eyes. If this were another story, he'd somehow would make it up those steps and rip out Sigma's throat with his bare teeth, freeing Zero and saving the world once more. This is not that story, however, and the second he stood up the guard knocked him off his feet, pinning him to the ground. Why did Sigma always need to laugh?

"Wow, that was great!" Sigma stood, leading Zero down from his throne to stand over X, ordering the guard away. He kneeled beside him, his voice suddenly growing soft.

"So, what's it going to be X...? I'll certainly miss my little fuck toy, but it's a small price to pay for the world." He grabbed X's bound arms, lifting him back up to his knees. No matter what happened he won.

X was crying again, his eye clenched shut as his mind raced. He hated being so weak. He needed Zero to snap out of it like he always did, so he'd conveniently grab the saber at Sigma's hip and make him _eat_ it.

But the one time it mattered most, Zero couldn't pull through. He watched X briefly before looking away, bored.

"Option one: you call off the Hunters and take Zero as your prize, accepting me as your new ruler. Option two: I take the world by force, keeping Zero and, hell, maybe I'll keep you too, since you're here." X flinched when he felt that massive hand brush against his soft cheek, his alarmed face causing Sigma to grin again.

"What's your decision, X? It's a big choice, I know, but I've lost all my patience while I was hunting you down. You need to tell me now, or I'm going to pick the option that only suits me best."

X shook his head, staring down at his lap for the answers.

His friends? The humans? Zero? His friends? The humans? _Zero_? His friends? _Zero? Zero Zero Zero Zero?_

 

His lips parted, and he finally spoke.

 

_I'm sorry._


	2. Chapter 2

A soft gasp, a shaky breath, scarlet eyes brimming with lust as their owner tried to wrap his legs around his lover's waist, his body squirming with want as he drew closer to climax. Yes, he needed this. He was so close, held on the very edge by his Master for what seemed like eternity. He was there, his vision blurring as he lost himself. Where was he? He's forgotten everything but the pleasure, the burning heat that came with every thrust the other made. Just a little more. Yes, almost, YES--

There was an audible clicking sound, and Zero gasped in something other than pleasure as his eyes turned to their vibrant blue. He orgasmed then, his shock from turning back to normal doing nothing to suppress the need of release. He made a choking sound, and when the other removed himself from inside of him he sobbed, curling onto his side as his body refused to stop shaking. He could feel a warm liquid oozing out from within him, and he felt absolutely disgusting.

There was a chuckle in his ear, the hot breath of a man he did not want, a hand brushing aside his golden hair with a corrupt gentleness. He couldn't look that way, fear and pain keeping him in place as the memories slowly returned to him. He didn't want to know what happened if he was still here. He was horrified. He couldn't speak.

"Silence used to be uncommon with you, y'know," Sigma sneered at him, he felt it. He didn't need to see the other to know what expressions he made anymore. When you spend so many nightmarish months with your worst enemy, you learn the hard way. "You'd yell and scream and try to get away. Whatever happened to that…ferocity? What happened to the Maverick Hunter everyone feared?"

Sigma raised a hand and roughly grabbed Zero's hip, yanking him onto his back before climbing on top of him. The blond simply grimaced as tears fell down his pretty face, shivering in place. He couldn't escape. He didn't even bother to try. The taller Reploid pressed his powerful lips against his mouth, pulling the old soldier into his arms like a worthless doll. Zero did nothing, made no sound, his eyes half-lidded as he stared past him at the ceiling…

Eventually he was allowed air, and he breathed it in softly as he avoided looking at the other Reploid directly. How could he face Sigma now, with everything taken away from him so abruptly? When death had finally come for him he was relieved, and he had foolishly hoped for an eternity of what he believed to be well-deserved rest. He had experienced so much pain in both his living and his dying moments. Was this his Hell, forced back upon the land of the living time and time again, destined to be used by anyone who saw fit? Before, he had hope whenever he came back, only because his precious X was alive. Now, he knew not where X was. Sigma could not be trusted regardless, and knowing him X was killed as soon as he made a decision. Zero could remember nothing when he was…turned. A darkness veiled his mind of the things he did or thought. It unnerved him.

"Hmm, I regret waiting so long to take you," Sigma sneered, his breath hot against Zero's face. "I should've made you mine back in the first rebellion. You would've known a world of pleasure had you simply joined me…"

"N…No one would have chosen this…willingly…" Zero grimaced at his words, awaiting a slap that he knew would come whenever he retaliated. It never came.

"I suppose so. Your entire life has been filled with people making decisions for you, about you, of you. From your joining of the Maverick Hunters, from your meeting with X, of every Maverick you've destroyed, all the deaths and revivals you've experienced, from your current… occupation, and, finally, X's mistake." Sigma was suddenly standing by the bed, a thumb pressed against his chin in thought. He was so tall, and Zero was too intimidated and shocked by his words to move.

"Speaking of X… I have a present for you."

He left the room without a word then, and Zero sat up slowly. Sigma's notions lingered in his brain painfully, and he was forced to contemplate them.

His life had always led to places beyond his control, but now he knew that this was something he could not escape. He did not want to be Sigma's toy, used and abused until it's Master grew bored of it, but for once brute strength could not assist him. He could not pull a miraculous miracle to free himself. His friends didn't know where he was, probably, and even if they did there was no way they could reach him. And X… He didn't know where X was, nor did he know what X chose, but his core would not stop pounding in his ears, and he felt like his world was falling apart by the time Sigma returned.

Zero jumped as a plain metal box was placed on his lap, blinking slowly before looking up at Sigma. The other didn't say a word, a terrible smile on his face that set warnings off in his head. With shaky hands he lifted the box, which was a decent size, giving it a curious shake. Something was inside…

"Hurry up." Sigma ordered sharply, and Zero hated the way he jumped into action at the command, his body having grown accustomed to doing so. He managed to lift the top side of the box, peering inside.

Sigma stared at Zero's face, his terrible smile growing to disturbing lengths at every emotion the other could not possibly hide. Grief, anger, hatred, fear, shock, disbelief: all were there, all at once, grabbing a hold of him and refusing to let go. Zero could not move. Time was frozen around his pretty little whore.

"I can tell that you may be curious at to what X chose, but really, I don't think it matter's much," Sigma cackled, lifting X's head from inside the box, holding it up to his face to observe the cold, dead eyes that stared through him, into the nothingness beyond. "You see, I wanted you to understand something from all of this. A lesson hardly learned, one that many seem to deny, and that lesson is the one of choice.

"What we - humans, Reploids - think matters, actually doesn't. Our choices make no difference on the outcomes of time. Fate is set in stone, destiny is a very real thing, a history cannot be changed. It was a fact, so many years ago, that I would be destined to rule this world. You and your Maverick Hunters, X included, chose to defy me, in the hopes that such an outcome would not occur, but it matters not. X thought that with his decision just now, that he could save his friends and you, could destroy me once and for all, but he was blinded by trivial ideals. Your place was forever by my side, Zero. X's destiny was to be annihilated. Nothing anyone did or chose could have changed this."

Sigma placed X's head on his desk, positioning it to face Zero directly, who was still staring inside the box with wide eyes. Shock, perhaps? He was intrigued with himself to find that he wasn't annoyed by this, only amused by Zero's lack of reaction. He could have been listening, and if so Sigma's words could be utterly changing his perspective on reality. Sigma traced massive hands along Zero's jawline, absorbing the look on his face, for he worried he'd ever see it again. The blond didn't move, not once, still staring at nothing with that look of subtle horror. The massive Reploid found that he much preferred looks like this one, so horrified the wielder was that they could not even express it. Nothing was satisfying about the screams of those who defied him any more. Sigma could forever be happy as long as Zero made such faces.

"How would X feel, if he saw you yielding to me…? Do you think he would start crying?" He laughed, pushing Zero back down on the bed, sinking his teeth into his neck, hard enough to draw blood. His tongue moved lower down his sensitive chest, though Zero made no sound. He was just staring, unable to act as X's dead eyes watched his worst enemy take away what was his. Soon enough they were once again united against Zero's will. He did not struggle, or cry, and he made no sound even as Sigma's mouth went even lower. If this was destiny, then his whole life has been some sort of sick joke. Maybe that's what everything was.

A joke.

Choice doesn't matter. The decisions we make hold no difference in the end. We think we can control our lives when they’ve already been decided for us.

Zero closed his eyes. He wondered what X said when Sigma forced his decision. He wondered what X felt in his last moments, if he thought about Zero and hoped they'd see each other again. Did he, too, realize that choices didn't matter, that their lives ended in suffering? Or did he actually think that Zero would escape this Hell…?

Zero sobbed as Sigma grew tired of his lack of involvement, pressing that cursed device that turned him into a Maverick after a few more sickening thrusts. That didn't matter either. Nothing did anymore. As Zero's world began to grow dark, he caught a glimpse of X watching him, his expression hollow, and he fell into despair before losing consciousness.

He'd never awaken as anything other than a Maverick ever again.


End file.
